WHO evacuates patients from Gaza • Hamas considers US hostage deal • Gaza strike allegedly kills 6 UNRWA staff • Soldier killed in West Bank ramming attack
Knesset approves new additional budget for 2024 fiscal year
The Knesset approved in its first reading a second additional budget for the fiscal year 2024, the Knesset plenum spokesperson announced on Thursday evening.
The decision is driven by the ongoing Israel-Hamas War, according to the budget proposal, which has introduced significant uncertainty and prolonged military engagement beyond initial estimates.
The first additional budget, which was based on the expectation that the intensity of the conflict would reduce by June 2024, has proven insufficient due to the extended fighting. As a result, the government has reportedly identified a need for increased civilian expenditures to address the ongoing impacts of the war.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid responded, “Where is the money coming from? The only thing being cut is the Israeli middle class and working public.”
“The very act of opening the budget a second time is a failure. The sole purpose is to increase the deficit and harm Israeli citizens – government survival,” emphasized MK Benny Gantz.
World must pressure Hamas on Gaza deal, Netanyahu says after group’s statement
The chief US negotiator, CIA head William Burns, said on Saturday that a more detailed ceasefire proposal would be made within several days.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that more pressure should be put on Hamas to accept a new Gaza deal proposal after the Palestinian terrorist group said it was only willing to implement a ceasefire free of new conditions.
The chief US negotiator, CIA head William Burns, said on Saturday that a more detailed ceasefire proposal would be made within several days.
On Wednesday, Hamas’ negotiation team met the Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Doha and reiterated their readiness to implement an “immediate” ceasefire with Israel in Gaza based on a previous US proposal without new conditions from any party, the group said in a statement.
IDF: Main goal of Philadelphi tunnels for firing rockets, not smuggling in weapons
The largest number of weapons is believed to have come from the Rafah Border Crossing, controlled by Egypt.
The main goal of Hamas with the Philadelphi Corridor tunnels was not to smuggle weapons but to facilitate firing long-range rockets, IDF sources on Thursday said during a visit by the Jerusalem Post and other Hebrew media to the corridor with Egypt.
The IDF said that there were three other ways besides the recent smuggling of weapons through the corridor during the war, which were likely responsible for the vast majority of Hamas’s massive weapons buildup.
Although these points were made in a technical professional context, they could also have significant implications for the ongoing debate within Israel over how crucial it is for the IDF to hold onto the Philadelphi Corridor at all times versus whether it can be temporarily given up as part of a deal to receive some dozens of Israeli hostages from Hamas.
IDF destroys Iran’s ‘Deep Layer’ facility in Syria in boldest operation yet – Axios
The IDF’s General Staff Reconnaissance Unit destroyed a Syrian underground missile factory built by Iran, a significant blow to their covert operations.
The IDF’s General Staff Reconnaissance Unit destroyed on Sunday a Syrian underground factory for precision missiles built by Iran, according to a Thursday Axios report.
According to the report, this was the boldest operation the IDF has carried out in recent years against Iranian targets in Syria. The destruction of the factory was reportedly a significant blow to Iran and Hezbollah’s covert effort to produce medium-range precision missiles in Syria.
The Israeli government has thus far maintained silence on the matter and is not taking responsibility to avoid provoking Syria, Iran, or Hezbollah into retaliation. The IDF spokesperson, the Defense Ministry, and the Prime Minister‘s Office have all declined to comment.
WATCH: Jerusalem Post military correspondent Yonah Jeremy Bob visits Rafah in the Gaza Strip
WATCH: Jerusalem Post military correspondent Yonah Jeremy Bob visits Rafah in the Gaza Strip
‘Post’ visits border tunnels in Philadelphi Corridor, where hostage bodies found in Rafah
The nine tunnels visited by the ‘Post’ are part of a network of more than 200 tunnels in that area of Rafah.
The Jerusalem Post on Thursday joined a Hebrew media visit to the largest Hamas tunnel for cross-border smuggling on the Philadelphi Corridor as well as to the tunnel shaft in Tel Sultan, Rafah where six Israeli hostages who Hamas had held were found dead on August 31.
The cross-border tunnel was large enough to fit large vehicles in it for smuggling and was the tunnel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was referring to in his presentation about such enormous tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor.
According to the IDF, this tunnel was one of nine cross-border tunnels which it has uncovered and destroyed since taking over Rafah from Hamas in May-June.
WATCH: Fire near Yaara in the northern Galilee started by a Hezbollah rocket
WATCH: IDF strikes terror targets in Syria
IDF confirms death of Hezbollah terrorist Ahmad Al-Jabr in Syria
The IAF eliminated the Hezbollah terrorist Ahmad Al-Jabr in a strike in Syria, the IDF announced on Thursday.
Al-Jabr was reportedly part of Hezbollah’s Golan Terrorist Network, which was situated in Syria in the area of Quneitra. Additionally, in the area of Al Rafeed in the southern part of Syria, the IDF eliminated an additional terrorist linked to Iranian activities, the military added.
On Thursday, multiple drones crossed from Lebanese territory, the IDF noted. All of which were either intercepted or fell in open areas in the Upper Galilee area.
No injuries were reported.
- Hamas launched a massive attack on October 7, with thousands of terrorists infiltrating from the Gaza border and taking some 240 hostages into Gaza
- Over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were murdered, including over 350 at the Re’im music festival and hundreds of Israeli civilians across Gaza border communities
- 101 hostages remain in Gaza
- 48 hostages in total have been killed in captivity, IDF says